Governor Hochul Announces $218 Million Investment to Improve Patient Care Across New York State’s Mental Health System

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a $218 million effort to build a new electronic health record system and dramatically improve the patient experience at the state's 24 inpatient psychiatric centers - including two research facilities - and more than 300 outpatient programs. The State Office of Mental Health awarded Oracle Health the funding to create a comprehensive statewide electronic health record system to aid in continuity of patient care and to improve evidence-based decision making by clinicians and boost overall efficiency of treatment delivery.

"Health records are a central component that help guide mental health treatment and ensure those who rely on our psychiatric centers and programs are receiving the best possible care," Governor Hochul said. "Once completed, this new electronic health records system will markedly improve the patient experience, bolster efficiency, reduce administrative burdens and help our clinicians focus on delivering high-quality care."

The new record system will fully integrate records between facilities and programs under the Office of Mental Health (OMH) umbrella of services so information can be shared easily and efficiently, which will help improve patient experience. The system will also standardize and streamline processes and clinical practices, keeping them compliant with both national and industry standards for behavioral health care.

Under the new system, all patient information will be available in a single application for OMH staff and patients to access, which will standardize and improve data quality. The standardized system will also enhance patient information security, improve the ability of OMH to share data with providers, and bolster overall efficiency by consolidating dozens of legacy applications into one platform.

The new system will also help improve safety at OMH facilities by ensuring staff can easily access up-to-date patient information before making care decisions. Streamlined workflows will also reduce administrative burdens on staff, allowing them to focus more on patient care.

Oracle's electronic health record system will take about 29 months to implement statewide and will support roughly 12,000 users, which will accommodate both clinical and business functions for facilities and their programs. This includes inpatient psychiatric facilities and outpatient services, which includes clinics, day treatment programs, Assertive Community Treatment teams, residential services and correction-based operations, among others.

OMH now uses several different electronic records systems, including some that are more than two decades old. These systems are often difficult to integrate and can become problematic, when various OMH facilities or programs attempt to share patient care information between one another.

New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, "With hard work and investment, we are improving all facets of New York State's mental health care system, including how we keep records. The new system will ensure that our healthcare professionals have access to the tools and resources they can rely on to deliver exceptional care across our diverse care settings -from our inpatient facilities to our outpatient programs. This investment reflects Governor Hochul's continued commitment to ensuring we can deliver high-quality mental health care for all New Yorkers."

New York State Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information Technology Services Dru Rai said, "ITS is proud to leverage its strong partnership with the Office of Mental Health (OMH) to support the successful advancement of this transformative project aimed at improving mental health care across our state. Whether it's comprehensive technical assistance, expertise, or ongoing project support, our agency will continue to serve as a vital resource and partner throughout this important initiative, allowing OMH to meet its mission-critical objectives and ensuring that the State continues to deliver exceptional care to the people of New York."

Oracle Health and Life Sciences Executive Vice President and General Manager Seema Verma said, "Mental health is often a long-term journey - one that requires deep understanding and continuity of care - and it is critical for clinicians to have a comprehensive view of a patient's health history and treatment path. By helping the New York Office of Mental Health unify patient information across all of its facilities, we can better support patients' continuum of care and empower clinicians to make more informed decisions."

Contact the Governor's Press Office